van fossen etal



Sept- 15, 1954 H. G* vAN FossEN ETAL 3,148,483

CONTINUOUS VIBRATOR FOR SURFACE TREATMENT OF PARTS Filed Deo. 14, 1961 3Sheets-Sheet 1 cx S Sept. 15, 1964 H. G. vAN FossEN ETAL 3,148,433

CONTINUOUS VTBRAToR RoR SURFACE: TREATMENT oF PARTS Filed Deo. 14, 19613 Sheets-Sheet 2 FIG. 5

FIG. `6'

INVENToRs Harvey G-.Vanfosselz BY and Fra/Lk D. Hau k@ I W @ama 7J/M mfSept. 15, 1964 H. G. vAN Fossl-:N ETAL 3,148,483

CONTINUOUS VIBRATOR FOR SURFACE TREATMENT OF PARTS Filed Dec. 14, 1961 ssheets-sheet s Hm fm Ffa, 7

INVENTORS Howe G( VonFoen Y an Hank D HQZZ @om MMM Hijs United StatesPatent O 3,148,4S3 CNTHNUUS VEBRATGR FOR SURFACE TREATMENT @F PARTSHarvey G. Van Fossen, Red Lion, and Frank D. Hail,

York, Pa., assignors, by mesne assignments, to The WheelahratorCorporation, Mishawaka, Ind., a corporation of Delaware Filed Dec. 14,1961, Ser. No. 159,245 9 Claims. (Cl. 51-7) This invention relates to amachine for the surface treatment of work by reaction with media invibratory movement and it relates more particularly to a vibratory meansfor cleaning or abrading surfaces of parts in a continuous operation.

This invention is addressed to an improvement in the devices of the typedescribed in the issued Patents No. 2,997,813 and No. 2,997,814, and inthe copending applications Ser. No. 124,846, led July 18, 1961 andentitled Bowl for Vibratory Machine, and Ser. No. 124,969, filed luly18, 1961 and entitled Corrugated Bowl Lining for Vibrators. The basicconcept described in the aforementioned issued patents and copendingapplications resides in a bowl, in the form of an elongate trough, whichis resiliently supported on a frame, as by means of springs or othercushioning or resilient means, whereby the bowl is capable of vibratorymovement relative to its supporting frame. In the issued patents, thebowl is resiliently supported in a cradle mounted for rocking movementfrom an upright or operating position to a tilted or dumping position.The copending applications are addressed to devices wherein the bowl isdirectly supported on the frame by the resilient means.

The bowl is displaced in vibratory movement relative to its support bymeans of an elongate shaft suspended from the bottom side of the bowland eccentrically mounted for rotational movement about an axis which isin alignment with the lengthwise horizontal axis of the bowl wherebyrotational movement of the shaft imparts a type of elliptical movementto the bowl crosswise of its axis to cause the material and media toflow up one side, across the top and down the other side of the bowl.

It is an object of this invention to provide a vibratory device of thetype described in which, in addition to the displacement of the materialin a plane crosswise of the bowl, the material and media areconcurrently displaced axially in one direction during vibratorymovement of the bowl, and it is a related object to produce a device ofthe type described in which the axial displacement of the material andmedia is uniform substantially throughout the length of the bowl; inwhich the rate of axial displacement can be varied without variation inthe amplitude or magnitude or speed of vibrational movement; which iscapable of continuous or batch operation for the treatment of parts andmaterial; which is capable of automatic separation of media and materialfor displacement of the material for use and recycling the media throughthe device; which is capable of treatment of material with minimumimpacts therebetween thereby to avoid surface damaging of the materialor parts; in which self-damage in polishing operations is avoided; inwhich differential material can be processed through the machine withoutchange in media or conditions and without interrupting the operation ofthe machine, which can be operated with minimum labor or media therebymarkedly to reduce the cost of surface treatment, and which can beoperated at maximum efiiciency and without shutdown for removal orreplacement of material and media thereby markedly to increase theoutput of the machine.

These and other objects and advantages of this invention willhereinafter appear and, for purposes of illustra- 3,li8,483 PatentedSept. 15., 1964 ICC tion, but not of limitation, an embodiment of theinvention is shown in the accompanying drawings, in which- FIG. l is aschematic side elevational view of a vibratory device embodying thefeatures of this invention;

FIG. 2 is an elevational view from the right end of the device shown inFIG. l;

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing the forces developed by the practice of thisinvention;

FIG. 4 is a curve which relates axial displacement of the material andmedia in relation to the angle of inclination of the eccentric;

FIG. 5 is a sketch showing one arrangement of the eccentric cylinder;

FIG. 6 is a sketch showing a modification in the arrangement of theeccentric cylinder,

FIG. 7 is a schematic elevational view showing a modiiication in thedevice of FIG. 1; and

FIG. 8 is a detailed plan View of the foraminous separating plate ofFIG. 1.

In its simplest form, the vibratory machine is illustrated as beingformed with a rigid base lo and an elongate trough lZ having verticallydisposed side walls 14- and lo and a curvilinear bottom wall 18 Thetrough is secured onto a horizontally disposed flat table Ztl as bymeans of bosses 22 rigid with the trough and secured, as by means ofhold-down bolts 24, to the top side of the table. The table 2i? is inturn resiliently supported for vibratory movement relative to the baseby means of a plurality of pairs of longitudinally spaced apart coilsprings 26 and 23 interposed between the lateral edge portions of thetable Ztl and the base i0. Instead of coil springs, other resilientcushioning means such as air springs, air bellows, cushioning materialand the like can be employed resiliently to support the trough forvibratory movement relative to the base.

In the aforementioned patents and patent applications, vibratorymovement is imparted to the trough by means of an eccentric supportedfrom the underside of the trough for rotational movement about an axiswhich is parallel with the lengthwise axis of the trough. The eccentriccan be in the form of a cylinder 30 eccentrically mounted on a shaftrotatable about an axis or it can be in the form of a cylindrical memberwhich is overbalanced by or weighted more on one side than the other todevelop the desired vibratory motion in response to rotational movementabout its axis. lt has been the practice to mount the eccentric forrotational movement about an axis which is parallel with the axis of thetrough. Under such circumstances, the material ilows in a planecrosswise of the trough in a more or less elliptical path. It has beenfound, in accordance with the practice of this invention, that when theaxis of rotation of the eccentric 3d is tilted or inclined withreference to the lengthwise axis of the trough, the movement of thematerial and media flows in a path which adds a linear component to theelliptical or circumferential movement to define a helical path in whichthe pitch of the helix is somewhat proportional to the angle ofinclination, as indicated in FIG. 3 of the drawings. Thus the materialand media flow axially or linearly in the direction of the downwardincline of the eccentric as well as in a circumferential or ellipticalpath whereby the material and media can be caused to move at a uniformpace from the feed inlet 32, at one end of the trough, to the outlet 33,at the other end of the trough, which is in the direction of thelowermost point of the inclined eccentric.

It has been found further that, in the combination which makes use of ahorizontally disposed vibratory bowl or trough and an inclined eccentricfor imparting vibratory movement, the material and media maintain theirrelative position within the trough during movement from the inlet endto the outlet end. Thus it becomes possible, in a system of the typedescribed, to maintain a desired separation between parts and mediawhereby physical contact between the parts can be avoided to militateagainst surface imperfections; whereby one type of part can followanother through the machine without intermingling of the parts therebyenabling continuous use to be made of the vibratory machine in acontinuous operation. With the continuous flow of the material and mediain vibratory movement from the inlet end to the outlet end, it becomespossible to include a separating means as a part of the machine incommunication with the outlet end for sifting the media from thematerial whereby the media can be recycled continuously or otherwisefrom the inlet to the outlet and the finished parts delivered cleanlyfrom the machine.

Referring now to the drawings, the eccentric is illustrated as anelongate cylindrical member 3i) supported at its opposite ends injournals 34 and 35. The journal at the inlet end portion of the machineis pivotally mounted on the spaced supports 36 depending from the bottomside of the table for rocking movement of the cylinder about ahorizontal axis which extends crosswise of the trough so that thecylindrical member can be adjusted to variable angles of inclination ina vertical plane which preferably passes through the central axis of thetrough. The end of the cylinder is connected through a fiexihle coupling3S to a shaft 40 supported for free rotational movement between uprights42 and 44 rigid with the frame lill. A sheave or gear 46 is mounted forrotational movement with the shaft 4@ and the gear is, in turn, adaptedto be driven as by means of a drive belt 48, connected to a power sourcefor rotational movement. It will be understood that other conventionalmeans for imparting rotational movement to the shaft or cylinder 40 maybe employed.

The journal 35 at the other end is mounted between laterally spacedapart supports t? and 52 for relative movement in the vertical directionto increase or decrease the angle of inclination of the cylinder.Vertical adjustment of the journal can be effected as by screw means 54including a vertically disposed shaft which is mounted for freerotational movement between supports 55 and 58 and is threadedsubstantially throughout its length for threaded engagement with athreaded bore rigid with the journal to effect vertical displacementalong the threaded shaft responsive to turning movement of the shaft inone direction or the other. A wheel dtl or other means may be providedfor engagement with one end of the shaft to effect such turning movementand the wheel or other means may be employed for rocking the shaft inthe adjusted position. An inlet chute or hopper 62 is provided at thehead end of the trough. The outlet end portion of the trough leads ontoa foraminous platform 64 in which the openings in the platform aredimensioned to be greater than the cross-sectional dimension of themedia but less than the size of the parts so that the media will siftthrough the platform while the parts will continue to be displaced overthe platform for delivery. The media which is thus separated from theparts can be continuously recycled to the inlet or it can be collectedin a suitable reservoir for re-use. When continuously recycled orotherwise, additives can be incorporated into the media for use insurface treatment of the parts.

As illustrated in FlG. 4, the magnitude of axial movement is somewhatproportional to the angle of inclination even within the range of from010 to 20. While these desired angle movements can be achieved at theslightest angle of inclination, it is undesirable to malte use of anangle of inclination which exceeds The preferred angle is within therange of from 1-10.

While use can be made of an eccentric dimensioned to have a lengthconsiderably less than the length of the trough, best use is made of aneccentric dimensioned to extend substantially throughout the length ofthe trough.

When the trough is of substantial length, the eccentric cylindricalmember can be subdivided into two or more units. The units may bearranged in endwise alignment, as illustrated by the sketch showing thearrangement of eccentric cylinders '70 and 72 in FIG. 5, or they can beoffset one from the other to minimize the height occupied by theeccentric member, as illustrated in the sketch in FIG. 6 with theadjacent ends of the eccentric cylinders '74 and 76 being interconnectedby a universal joint 78.

It has been found that the concepts described will result in a vibratoryfinishing machine having a number of distinct advantages over machineswhich have heretofore been employed:

(1) The machine will be capable of continuous operation thereby topermit increased output per machine.

(2) The device avoids the consumption of time required for loading andunloading. This is of extreme importance, especially in the processingof materials over a short time cycle since otherwise the use of machinesheretofore employed would consume a larger proportion of time for theloading and unloading cycles as compared to the processing cycle.

(3) The continuous vibratory machine of the type dcscribed and claimedpermits the parts to be maintained in a separated state thereby to avoidthe necessity for making use of fixtures of the type heretofore requiredto insure the separation of parts during surface treatment.

(4) A machine of the type described is capable of considerable variationin the cycle of operation since the time that the material remains incontact with the media in vibratory movement can be effectively adjustedmerely by variation in the angle of inclination of the eccentric.

(5) The machine eliminates the need for baflles to insure the desiredsurface contacts between parts and media.

(6) r'Che machine is capable of maximum fiexibility in operation sinceuse can be made thereof in the treatment of the parts of variousdimensions and of various shapes without material modification in theconstruction or in the settings of the machine.

(7) The machine is capable of classification to separate the media fromthe parts thereby to permit delivery of the parts as a finished productand return of the media by recycle to the processing steps.

It will be understood that changes may be made in the details ofconstruction, arrangement and operation without departing from thespirit of the invention especially as defined in the following claims.

We claim:

1. A vibratory machine for the surface treatment of parts in contactwith media in vibratory movement comprising an elongate, substantiallyhorizontally disposed container having an inlet at one end portion andan outlet at the other end portion, means resiliently mounting thecontainer for vibratory movement, a cylindrical eccentric, meansmounting the eccentric on the container in substantially parallelrelation with the lengthwise axis of the container for rotationalmovement about an axis which is substantially parallel with the axis ofthe container but with an angle of inclination to the axis of thecontainer in which an end portion of the eccentric adjacent the inlet ofthe container is at a higher level than the other end portion of theeccentric adjacent the outlet of the container, and means for impartingrotational movement to the eccentric for rotational movement about itsaxis whereby the parts and media within the container travel about thecontainer in a continuous helical path having its pitch in the directiontowards the outlet end of the container.

2. A vibratory machine as claimed in claim 1, in which the containercomprises an elongate trough having an open top.

3. A vibratory machine as claimed in claim 1, in which the containercomprises an elongate trough having a round bottom.

4. A vibratory machine for the surface treatment of parts while inengagement with media in vibratory movement comprising a base, anelongate, substantially horizontally disposed trough having an inlet atone end portion and an outlet at the other end portion, meansresiliently mounting the trough for vibratory movement on said base, aneccentric, means mounting the eccentric on the trough substantiallyparallel with the lengthwise axis of the trough for rotational movementabout an axis which is substantially parallel with the axis of thetrough and with an angle of inclination to the axis of the trough inwhich an end portion of the eccentric adjacent the inlet of the troughis at a higher level than the other end portion of the eccentricadjacent the outlet end of the trough, and means for operation of saideccentric to impart vibrational movement to the trough whereby the partsand media Within the trough travel about the trough in a continuoushelical path having its pitch in the direction towards the outlet end ofthe trough.

5. A vibratory machine for the surface treatment of parts by media invibratory movement comprising an elongate, substantially horizontallydisposed trough having an inlet at one end portion and an outlet portionat the other end portion, means resiliently mounting the trough forvibratory movement, a cylindrical member eccentrically mounted on thetrough for rotational movement about an eccentric axis of thecylindrical member, means mounting the cylindrical member with itseccentric axis parallel with the axis of the trough but inclinedrelative thereto for rotational movement about an axis which issubstantially parallel With the axis of the trough, and means forimparting rotational movement to the cylindrical member whereby theparts and media within the trough travel about the trough in acontinuous helical path having its pitch in the direction towards theoutlet end of the trough.

6. A vibratory machine as claimed in claim 5, in which the eccentricaxis of the cylindrical member is mounted at an angle of inclinationwhich is greater than l degree.

7. A vibratory machine as claimed in claim 5, in Which the eccentricaxis of the cylindrical member is mounted at an angle of inclinationgreater than 1 degree but less than 15 degrees.

8. A vibratory machine as claimed in claim 5, which includes means foradjusting the angle of inclination of the eccentric axis ofthecylindrical member.

9. A vibratory machine as claimed in claim 5, which includes means incommunication with the outlet of the trough for classifying to eiectseparation of the parts from the media.

Behrens July 1, 1958 Brandt Aug. 29, 1961

1. A VIBRATORY MACHINE FOR THE SURFACE TREATMENT OF PARTS IN CONTACTWITH MEDIA IN VIBRATORY MOVEMENT COMPRISING AN ELONGATE, SUBSTANTIALLYHORIZONTALLY DISPOSED CONTAINER HAVING AN INLET AT ONE END PORTION ANDAN OUTLET AT THE OTHER END PORTION, MEANS RESILIENTLY MOUNTING THECONTAINER FOR VIBRATORY MOVEMENT, A CYLINDRICAL ECCENTRIC, MEANSMOUNTING THE ECCENTRIC ON THE CONTAINER IN SUBSTANTIALLY PARALLELRELATION WITH THE LENGTHWISE AXIS OF THE CONTAINER FOR ROTATIONALMOVEMENT ABOUT AN AXIS WHICH IS SUBSTANTIALLY PARALLEL WITH THE AXIS OFTHE CONTAINER BUT WITH AN ANGLE OF INCLINATION TO THE AXIS OF THECONTAINER IN WHICH AN END PORTION OF THE ECCENTRIC ADJACENT THE INLET OFTHE CONTAINER IS AT A HIGHER LEVEL THAN THE OTHER END PORTION OF THEECCENTRIC ADJACENT THE OUT-